AT&T Adds Speed to US Network

AT&T has begun using a high-speed backbone network to move data faster across the US, the company said Monday. The network's capacity is 40 gigabits per second -- quadruple the previous capacity -- allowing users to more quickly access bandwidth-greedy files and videos. It is the first such network deployed in the US, reports AP, though Verizon is planning a backbone network in Europe.

AT&T says it is upgrading its network to meet customers' ever-growing bandwidth needs. "As the demand for Internet and IP-based applications continues to explode, IP traffic on the AT&T network has doubled throughout the past two years, and we fully expect this substantial growth to continue in the future," said a company rep. The company has upgraded 50,000 miles of its network.